Northern Bear show that they care: Celebrating ten years of support

While we are always delighted to receive donations from businesses, we find corporate partnerships much more valuable for both the charity and the business, when we can truly welcome them into our family and build a relationship between their staff and ours. This helps employees really connect with the cause that they are supporting through work, and allows us to demonstrate the importance of the money they donate – as well as be able to thank them in a personal way. As we got to know the Northern Bear team, our relationship blossomed , along with their passion for our cause. As they are a very family-oriented team of people, our Children & Young Adults Service especially resonated with the Northern Bear staff.

So that Northern Bear could get a better understanding of how their support makes a difference, we were able to invite them to meet the Matron of St Oswald’s Hospice Children’s and Young Adults service, our Activities Co-ordinator, many of our Social Care Workers and of course our patients and their families. They got the opportunity to meet some of our young service users and interact with them through arts and crafts activities.

In 2019, Northern Bear put their name and support behind our Leap Year Ball. Their sponsorship meant that our costs were covered, so  all funds raised through the event directly benefitted our patents and families. The event was a massive success, raising £32,000.

Northern Bear’s support continued with their annual Golf Days and they signed up to become a members of our ‘Better Together Business Club‘ a low cost, philanthropic club for businesses in support of hospice nurses. Northern Bear, along with the 60 other Club members, aim to fully fund the salaries of two hospice nurses each year.

As well as fundraising and planning events, Northern Bear also continue to provide support to the hospice through their various construction businesses, sharing expertise and knowledge.

When Keith Soulsby retired in April 2024, we welcomed their new CEO John Davies, and our fundraising team were delighted to spend the day with him at their annual golf day in June 2024. It was an opportunity for our team to let John know a little more about our work  and what the support of his company has meant to us over the last ten years. And once again, the Golf Day was a huge success, with another £20,000 raised.

To date, over £156,000 has been raised to support our hospice services thanks to Northern Bear’s fundraising efforts. This is the equivalent of 5,600 hours of specialist nursing care which has directly benefitted the patients and families we care for.

Steph Edusei, Chief Executive at St Oswald’s Hospice said:

“On behalf of all of the staff, volunteers, patients and families at St Oswald’s Hospice, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Northern Bear and all of their companies who have been there for us for so many years now. Their genuine interest and care in our work, coupled with their enthusiasm and dedication to raising funds has allowed us to build a very special partnership, that we hope will continue for many more years.”